Last year after his hard fought 5 setter against Kendrick he just found his groove and cruised. I think that 5 setter last year made him prepared for the rest of the tournament. I think this 5 setter against Soderling will help him alot in the rest of the tournament because he had to face alot of adversity to get through. Sure the draw is harder this time around but I think he will just get better as the tournament goes on. One of the reasons last year he only pushed Federer to 4 sets was because he didn't face any hard competition to get him prepared for Federer but this time around this stiff competition will get him prepared.

Sixpack returns with a new thread! I always knew you'd come back! You're one of my fav trolls!

TELLING IT LIKE IT IS:"“Every tennis lover would like, someday, to play like Federer ...But every man wants to BE Rafael Nadal. Which is different.” --PHILIPPE BOUIN, writer; also, a rare, unbiased Frenchman

He may get to the finals but he won't cruise to the finals. How many times was Nadal broken in last year's Wimbledon before the finals? Just compare that number with his match against Soderling. Someone with a good return and forehand will be able to wreak havoc on his service games.

It is good though that he finished quickly, they only played 20 minutes or so, and he's bound to be relieved that this is over with and he can move on. But I don't think it can be compared to the Kendrick match because of the way it was fractured and because he's potentially facing two players who have gotten the better of him more than once in the past year on faster courts, unlike last year. Personally I wouldn't be too surprised if he loses tomorrow, or Friday. I sure will be pleased if he doesn't, though.

RAFAEL NADAL"There are some people who say he can only play on clay, and they don't have any idea of tennis."--Roger Federer

The biggest obstacle in Nadal's path to the final will be Berdych if he has to face him. There are other players that could trouble him as well but if Nadal plays well he can defeat most of them. I don't think he will cruise to the final but he's a good shot if he plays well.